Allen said that the TAC had created large, detailed maps of the village identifying municipally owned land, vacant sites and existing privately developed sites that might be redeveloped through public/private partnerships. Using the standard operating procedures of a design charrette, attendees at the public meeting were being invited to break out into smaller groups, prioritize their criteria for location and features of a bus station and then use the maps to identify additional potential sites.
The consultant asked if there were any further questions before the breakout sessions began, loosing a tide of pent-up anxiety in the crowd. Butch Dener angrily denounced the planning process as a government takeover of a private business, accusing county officials of not consulting the owners of the bus station and saying that he was “offended.” Doyle later clarified that the property-owners were indeed being included in the process.
Noting that he rides the bus every day, James Leo spoke on behalf of regular commuters, saying, “Our needs are being ignored.” “Is a commuter part of your committee?” chimed in Cindy Rivas. “Will we be represented?” Allen explained that the TAC included mayors and other municipal officials, including New Paltz’s Jason West, and Doyle invited any resident who wants to serve on the committee to represent commuters to “please reach out to Brian Slack or myself” at the Ulster County Transportation Council.
Stewart Glenn asked whether it was a foregone conclusion that any new bus station location would be sited to serve both Trailways and UCAT customers: “Are you going to put the two systems together in one facility?” Allen responded that the planners had no such preconceived notions, but he noted that the transportation study had projected increases in demand for both systems in the future. “It’s an analysis of both systems,” he explained, that would seek to determine “if any efficiencies can be found” by combining the facilities.
It became increasingly clear as the meeting progressed that regular commuters were rebelling against any suggestion of removing the station from its convenient downtown location. Some said that they had deliberately moved to the neighborhood to be within walking distance of the buses, such as Renee Jensen, who added, “We have four non-drivers in our family, and there’s no cab available at 5 a.m.,” when the earliest Trailways bus to New York City leaves the station.
Resistance to the idea of coming up with alternative locations for the station persisted throughout the breakout sessions. “Walkability” or “proximity to downtown” was the top priority cited by four out of the five groups, with access to free overnight parking a secondary concern. Several groups suggested maintaining the current location as the primary bus stop, coupled with expansion of the Park and Ride area at the New York State Thruway entrance for those who need to drive their cars to get to the bus. Installation of a ticket-vending machine at the Park and Ride proved a popular suggestion.
What little discussion there was of alternative sites tended to focus on potential development of “the Pit,” the low-lying vacant lot situated along Hasbrouck Avenue just east of Village Hall. But this was seen as probably the most cost-intensive option. The New Paltz Middle School and the gas station/convenience mart at the intersection at Route 32 North and Henry W. DuBois Drive were also mentioned as possibilities, although problematic.
As the meeting was winding up, Mark Sherman took the Transportation Council to task for not publicizing the process widely enough and suggested that the planners survey actual commuters: “people who use the bus who don’t know this is happening. What you don’t want is people waking up one day and saying, ‘What have they done?’ I’m urging you to get as much input as you can from a wide spectrum of the community,” Sherman said.
Doyle seemed to agree. “This project is not successful unless the community buys in, as well as the stakeholders,” he said. He added that the planning process would be deliberate and gradual, with the next community workshop unlikely to happen until the spring or summer of 2014.
New Paltz-based planner David Clouser put a more positive spin on the process, saying, “Investing in transit in robust ways is important to the health of the community. We don’t want to make the same mistakes that Kingston made. It’s important to investigate multiple site options.”
